Chapter XXXVII.--The Testimonies of the Poets.
And that evil-doers must necessarily be punished in proportion to their deeds, has already been, as it were, oracularly uttered by some of the poets, as a witness both against themselves and against the wicked, declaring that they shall be punished. Æschylus said:--
"He who has done must also suffer."
And Pindar himself said:--
"It is fit that suffering follow doing."
So, too, Euripides:--
"The deed rejoiced you--suffering endure;
The taken enemy must needs be pain'd."
And again:--
"The foe's pain is the hero's meed."
And, similarly, Archilochus:--
"One thing I know, I hold it ever true,
The evil-doer evil shall endure."
And that God sees all, and that nothing escapes His notice, but that, being long-suffering, He refrains until the time when He is to judge--concerning this, too, Dionysius said:--
"The eye of Justice seeing all,
Yet seemeth not to see."
And that God's judgment is to be, and that evils will suddenly overtake the wicked,--this, too, Æschylus declared, saying:--
"Swift-footed is the approach of fate,
And none can justice violate,
But feels its stern hand soon or late.
"'Tis with you, though unheard, unseen;
You draw night's curtain in between,
But even sleep affords no screen.
"'Tis with you if you sleep or wake;
And if abroad your way you take,
Its still, stern watch you cannot break.
"'Twill follow you, or cross your path;
And even night no virtue hath
To hide you from th' Avenger's wrath.
"To show the ill the darkness flees;
Then, if sin offers joy or ease,
Oh stop, and think that some one sees!"
And may we not cite Simonides also?--
"To men no evil comes unheralded;
But God with sudden hand transforms all things."
Euripides again:--
"The wicked and proud man's prosperity
Is based on sand: his race abideth not;
And time proclaims the wickedness of men."
Once more Euripides:--
"Not without judgment is the Deity,
But sees when oaths are struck unrighteously,
And when from men unwilling they are wrung."
And Sophocles:--
"If ills you do, ills also you must bear."
That God will make inquiry both concerning false swearing and concerning every other wickedness, they themselves have well-nigh predicted. And concerning the conflagration of the world, they have, willingly or unwillingly, spoken in conformity with the prophets, though they were much more recent, and stole these things from the law and the prophets. The poets corroborate the testimony of the prophets.
Chapter XXXVIII.--The Teachings of the Greek Poets and Philosophers Confirmatory of Those of the Hebrew Prophets.
But what matters it whether they were before or after them? Certainly they did at all events utter things confirmatory of the prophets. Concerning the burning up of the world, Malachi the prophet foretold: "The day of the Lord cometh as a burning oven, and shall consume all the wicked." [629] And Isaiah: "For the wrath of God is as a violent hail-storm, and as a rushing mountain torrent." [630] The Sibyl, then, and the other prophets, yea, and the poets and philosophers, have clearly taught both concerning righteousness, and judgment, and punishment; and also concerning providence, that God cares for us, not only for the living among us, but also for those that are dead: though, indeed, they said this unwillingly, for they were convinced by the truth. And among the prophets indeed, Solomon said of the dead, "There shall be healing to thy flesh, and care taken of thy bones." [631] And the same says David, "The bones which Thou hast broken shall rejoice." [632] And in agreement with these sayings was that of Timocles:--
"The dead are pitied by the loving God."
And the writers who spoke of a multiplicity of gods came at length to the doctrine of the unity of God, and those who asserted chance spoke also of providence; and the advocates of impunity confessed there would be a judgment, and those who denied that there is a sensation after death acknowledged that there is. Homer, accordingly, though he had said,--
"Like fleeting vision passed the soul away," [633]
says in another place:--
"To Hades went the disembodied soul;" [634]
And again:--
"That I may quickly pass through Hades' gates,
Me bury." [635]
And as regards the others whom you have read, I think you know with sufficient accuracy how they have expressed themselves. But all these things will every one understand who seeks the wisdom of God, and is well pleasing to Him through faith and righteousness and the doing of good works. For one of the prophets whom we already mentioned, Hosea by name, said, "Who is wise, and he shall understand these things? prudent, and he shall know them? for the ways of the Lord are right, and the just shall walk in them: but the transgressors shall fall therein." [636] He, then, who is desirous of learning, should learn much. [637] Endeavour therefore to meet [with me] more frequently, that, by hearing the living voice, you may accurately ascertain the truth.
[629] Mal. iv. 1.
[630] Isa. xxx. 30.
[631] Prov. iii. 8.
[632] Ps. li. 8.
[633] Od., xi. 222.
[634] Il., xvi. 856.
[635] xxiii. 71.
[636] Hos. xiv. 9.
[637] We have adopted the reading of Wolf in the text. The reading of the mss. is, "He who desires to learn should desire to learn." Perhaps the most satisfactory emendation is that of Heumann, who reads philomuthein instead of philomathein: "He who desires to learn should also desire to discuss subjects, and hold conversations on them." In this case, Theophilus most probably borrows his remark from Aristotle, Metaphysic. i. c. 2.
theophilus autolycus_iii anf02 theophilus_autolycus_iii Theophilus to Autolycus - Book III /ccel/schaff/anf02.iv.ii.iii.html
Theophilus to Autolycus.